Beasts of a Little Land(40)

The gun clicked, and the man’s lids fluttered like a dying moth. He was still standing, unharmed, but with a quickly spreading stain on his crotch. The smell of his piss attacked Ito’s nostrils anew. Ito had run out of bullets.

He holstered his pistol and drew his sword out instead. The two white men were shaking like leaves, sweat dripping down their faces. The red-haired deputy was whispering something under his breath with closed eyes. When they finally seemed ready to die, Ito sighed and slid his sword back in its sheath. His right hand was cramping ferociously, and he wasn’t a butcher who would just hack away with his left hand.

“Go,” Ito said. It had truly been a long day and he was tired to the very ends of his lashes. He’d done his part well, and needed rest. Before he could change his mind, he made a gesture like flicking off an annoying fly. And the two Americans, streaming with sweat, tears, and urine, fled behind the walls of their sanctuary.





10


The Darkest Shade of Blue

1919

ONCE HE’D SAFELY LED THE GANG BACK TO THEIR TENTS AFTER THE March, JungHo left again by himself. He knew something serious was happening to Jade by the way he was being pulled toward her house, as though they were connected by an invisible line that she was now tugging on for his help. But when he arrived, the gate was firmly shut. He knocked on the door, nervous about being met by her servants, or worse, her family.

The door cracked open an inch and a gasp was heard. “Oh, it’s you!” Jade said, sliding away the bolt. “Come inside quickly.”

“Are you okay? What’s the matter?” JungHo slipped in and Jade bolted the door shut again. Her face was flushed and wet with what could have been either sweat or tears.

“Aunt Dani and our maid Hesoon went to the protest today. They haven’t come back and Luna’s really sick,” Jade said. “She’s going to have her baby. I don’t know what to do.”

JungHo didn’t know anything about childbirth except the fact that his mother had died giving birth to his younger sister. He kept this to himself and asked, “Who else is here? And how can I help?”

“Lotus is next to Luna. She’s even more scared than I am.” Jade wiped her face. “I don’t know where we could find a midwife and it’s still dangerous out on the streets.”

“Okay, I’ll bring help. You stay here.” JungHo tried to remember anything he’d heard from his mother’s midwife. He shouted over his shoulder as he ran out: “Make sure Luna stays warm and give her water!”

It was the time of stillness just before night turned into dawn. The sky was painted in the darkest shade of blue; birds would start singing exactly an hour later. JungHo flew through the neighborhood, where he knew every store, building, and even the jujube tree house that drew pregnant visitors around the clock. That was where he found the old midwife in her bed. Out of everyone in Seoul, she alone didn’t seem taken aback by JungHo’s appearance. All the babies of the area had long been born into her wrinkled hands, whether on the earth floor of mud huts or silk cots in mansions.

When the midwife arrived, she took a look at Luna and ordered the girls to bring her a pair of shears, some yarn, clean linens, hot water, and cold water. A few hours passed without much progress. Despite the girls’ panic, the midwife went outside to take a break and sat next to JungHo in front of the garden. He didn’t understand why she seemed so relaxed. Just before daybreak she disappeared inside again and left him to watch the gradual graying of the world alone.

JungHo dozed off for a half hour, perhaps more. He was startled awake when Jade came out and said with a smile, “It’s a girl.”

“How are they doing? And are you feeling okay?” JungHo asked.

“They’re both sleeping. The granny said the baby is the prettiest newborn she’s ever delivered—and she’s even been midwife to a royal princess,” Jade said, beckoning him to follow her to the kitchen. “Here, you can take whatever you’d like.”

“I didn’t do this to get food,” JungHo said, confused and disappointed. “I wanted to help you.”

“I know, JungHo. Thank you.” Jade reached out and grabbed his hand. Her fingertips sent blooming stars up and down the length of his arm. He wished he could stay standing there forever, holding hands with her. But then she let go and started wrapping food in a large kerchief.

“I’m sorry you can’t stay . . . I have to go back to Luna now.” She led him again by hand across the courtyard toward the gates, and suddenly stopped. “If you hadn’t come, Luna might have died. It’s strange how you showed up at that moment, because I was thinking about you. I didn’t even know how you could help but you just came into my head.”

He wanted to tell her that she was inside his head all the time, that she could very well be living there like it was her house, but a sudden wave of shyness stopped him. The morning sun was sparkling on the tips of her eyelashes; her wispy hair escaped from last night’s braid and frizzed around her face like a cloud. She shone with the promise of something far greater than the eleven years of her life, and JungHo thought he could see and love even her future self.

“I’m going to tell Aunt Dani how you helped and she’s going to reward you. She might even let you stay with us, in a spare room in the house. Then you wouldn’t have to sleep outside in the cold. You’d always have plenty to eat here, and maybe you’d even get to go to school. JungHo, I’m so happy!” She smiled and let him pass through the gates.